1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to new peptides and their derivatives, therapeutic compositions containing the same, and methods for use of the compositions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,646, of which one of the present Applicants is one of the named inventors, discloses the pentapeptide of sequence H-ARG-LYS-ASP-VAL-TYR-OH as well as peptide compositions in which various groups are substituted onto the amino- or carboxyl-terminus of this pentapeptide. This patent is incorporated herein by reference. For brevity herein, the pentapeptide, the sequence of which is given above, will be referred to as the "thymopoietin pentapeptide" or "TP5". The above-referenced patent discloses that the thymopoietin pentapeptide and its derivatives have biological activity similar to that of the long chain polypeptide known as thymopoietin and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,002,740 and 4,077,949. The thymopoietin pentapeptide, which was disclosed to be the most active compound set out in the patent, showed activity in the mouse assay of Example II thereof at concentrations ranging from 1 ng/ml to 10 .mu.g/ml. The biological activity of TP5 is also disclosed in an article by M. E. Weksler, et al., J. Exp. Med. 148:996-1006 (1978). This article is incorporated herein by reference.
Reference is made to the above-described thymopoietin pentapeptide patent and article for a discussion of other prior art and the biological processes involved in the present invention.
The present invention provides peptides and peptide compositions which are surprisingly and significantly more active than the thymopoietin pentapeptide.